St George's Anglican Church established in 1838, in Blackstone Edge, St Ann.

It was a bright and sunny Wednesday morning when THE STAR made its journey to the cool farming community of Blackstone Edge in the Garden Parish of St Ann.

After making the winding and bumpy journey to Blackstone Edge, nearing arrival the bright burgundy roof of the over 170-year-old Anglican church comes into view.

The church is called the St George's Anglican Church and was established in 1834.

Other noticeable landmarks in the community are the relics of a post office, which in years gone by, according to residents, had seen better days, a quaint basic school, a clinic and The George's All-Age School which boasts being established the same year in which Jamaica gained its Independence.

plethora of reasons

When THE STAR spoke with residents about how the quiet farming community got its name, many were clueless, and, so, a plethora of reasons were given as to its meaning.

However, 72-year-old Cynthia Bartley-Brown, a returning resident and former teacher at the St George's All-Age School in Blackstone Edge, told us the meaning behind the community's name.

"It is an English name from the plantation owners who came to Jamaica from England and established sugar plantations after the Spaniards. All the names of the adjoining districts got their names from families who were plantation owners."

She went on to say "Blackstone Edge is very unique because it has three parishes along its borders namely St Catherine, St Ann and St Mary."

She further informed us about a now deceased resident, whose house was in St. Ann, toilet was in St Catherine and kitchen was in St Mary, she laughed "As children we used to always joke about it."

When THE STAR asked if there is anywhere in any of the adjoining communities that she thinks outsiders should know about, she answered "Yes, right here in Moseley Hall, we have a cave that tourists used to visit and where farmers use rat bat faeces as manure for farming."

So THE STAR again tightened the straps on our bags and made the trek to 'Cave' accompanied by Bartley-Brown, her nephews Antwayne, Rico and Jahbukie Grant along with an elderly farmer, who is said to the know Cave like the back of his hand, called 'Crampy'.

On our journey to Cave, we came across a Jamaica Public Service Company high-voltage utility pole and Crampy told us how this pole almost did not come into being.

"When they were trying to put up the electric tower, a duppy tried to knock dem off, as this is an old slave ground, they had to have a feast and kill a goat in honour of the dead before they could put up the tower."

precious commodity

Upon arrival, the cave's mouth is deceptive as the opening is quite small in comparison to the belly of the cave, where bats can be seen and heard scurrying about in the cavern, and that's when all the men present, excluding THE STAR photographer, started to sweep the cave floor for the precious commodity, which is bat faeces.

According to Crampy, a bag of bat faeces can be sold for around $5,000 and is very potent and so one must be careful how much of the excrement is used as fertilizer.

After we vacated the cave and made our trek downhill, some concerns were raised by the residents.

Bartley-Brown stated "We need roads, as you can see the road is in poor condition, we also need water, water is a major issue for us around here, our main source of water is the rain."

Gladston Bartley, a farmer who grows pak choi and cabbage told THE STAR "Our MP Lisa Hanna and councillors are aware of the road conditions, they came to view it during election and haven't returned."

Meanwhile, 20-year-old Christopher Laws said "We want a police youth club and training centre, so we can have something to do."

While Jahbukie Grant said "Farming not going well for us, we don't have enough land space and resources to farm."

According to residents, although crimes such as murder and rape are not an issue, the community is constantly plagued by praedial larcenists, who target farmers' crops and livestock on a regular basis.

The quaint community of Blackstone Edge, St Ann, and its adjoining districts are filled with numerous picturesque landscapes, cool temperature, warm people and is an ideal place to visit to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life and to appreciate nature.

Seventy-two-year-old Cynthia Bartley-Brown strikes a pose with her chicken at her home in Moseley Hall, St Ann.

A resident of Moseley Hall in St Ann points to an area where the largest sugar mill was to be built in the island prior to the abolishment of slavery. - Ian Allen Photos

Residents exiting the Cave in Moseley Hall, St Ann. Rico Grant (left), Mrs Bartley-Brown (second left), Jahbukie Grant, Antwayne Grant (right) and Crampy (front).